Somalia: Turkish President to open a military base in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU, Somalia- The President of Turkey Recep Tayyip
Erdogan is expected to visit the Somali capital of Mogadishu next month to open
the newly built military base funded by Turkey, Garowe Online report.

This is Turkish President fourth visit to Somalia and he is
the only non-African President to visit Mogadishu in decades. Erdogan visited
Somalia last year and opened Turkey's new embassy, one of the largest worldwide.

Turkish President will be accompanied with government
officials including Army chief Hulusi Akar and will officially cut the ribbon
of the new military facility in Mogadishu.

The newly established $50-million base occupies 400
hectares and house three military schools, dormitories and depots. The facility, whose construction began in March
2015, will be used to train troops from Somalia and other African countries by
Turkish army.

This is
considered the second Turkish foreign military base and aimed to assist
Somalia’s security forces in their fight against Al Qaida-affiliated Al Shabaab militant group in the country,

Istanbul, 23 February 2016 - The sixth High-Level Partnership Forum opened in Istanbul, Turkey today, where Somalia’s partners acknowledged the massive strides the country has made in the security, political and economic fronts.

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The independent news Web site GaroweOnline.com is the online sister publication of Radio Garowe, a community radio station based in Garowe, the State capital of Puntland, a self-governing region in northern Somalia